


Salt and Iron

by Augment



Category: One Piece
Genre: Bloodplay (minor), Fighting, Hand Jobs, M/M, Romance, Then... not fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:59:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11062314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augment/pseuds/Augment
Summary: This time, when they sway together afterwards, get too far into each other’s space, blood and adrenaline between them – this time, there’s no one to interrupt.





	Salt and Iron

It’s not a particularly strenuous fight. Merely two fully staffed marine ships, led by one terminally over-confident captain. They try to sneak up on the Thousand Sunny, which is docked in the shallow cape of an uninhabited island. Most of the crew are off foraging, leaving only Zoro and Luffy to guard the ship.

Yeah. ‘Only’.

When Zoro sights the marine flag from the crow’s nest he shouts down a warning to Luffy, and then half-slides half-climbs down the rigging. Captain and first mate meet on deck, surveying their enemies as they approach. Luffy grins, feral. Zoro smirks, demonic.

The marines have no idea what’s coming to them.

The fight could be over in thirty seconds. Both ships sliced in half, marines drowned or punched unconscious. For once, though, they have the luxury of taking their time. Zoro draws only the white sword, Luffy doesn’t even think about using Gear. Zoro takes the ship on the left, Luffy the ship on the right. They leave the Sunny out of this.

With a blur, the two fighters separate.

Zoro appears smack bang in the middle of the deck, surrounded on all sides, open on all sides. He bows, then engages, dancing with his opponents – not that they’re willing partners. Just for the fun of it, Zoro lets some of them through his guard. One is quicker than the rest, but the sting of the resulting wound merely sharpens the world, makes it taste more real.

Luffy laughs, long and loud. He flies across the deck of his chosen ship, swinging dangerously far out over seawater, and then back in again to knock opponents left, right, through the air. He leap-frogs the marine captain, smashing the man’s face into the deck. Whooping with joy, Luffy balls up and plays bowls, with marines for skittles.

It’s still over too soon. The only living body in the middle of a blood-splattered deck, Zoro stands bereft, and spares a fleeting sympathy for Mihawk and his complaints of _boredom._ But then his attention is snared again, as usual, by his Captain. Luffy is across mere feet of water, clinging to the tippy-top of the mast as his marine ship sinks slowly into the ocean. He’s laughing, someone else’s blood splattered across his forehead, knuckles, stomach.

Luffy reaches out, and no conscious thought has Zoro stretching out his own arms, catching Luffy as he rockets himself across the gap. The force of the impact sends Zoro stumbling back one or two steps. It’s a two-second embrace, and then Luffy sends himself skyward again, slipping out of Zoro’s grasp as natural as the sun.

By the time Zoro’s made his way across marine ship debris back home, Luffy’s standing on the deck of the Sunny, chest heaving with exhilaration, hair wind-mussed.

Zoro can’t help it, he grins, far too fond. Steps in, too close. That Luffy’s beaming too, that he doesn’t step away – it doesn’t help.

The urgency of the fight has faded, and as they stand like this, Zoro’s focus narrows down to only Luffy, the space around Luffy. The distance between them is now only centimetres, but Zoro measures it in aeons, infinities.

Luffy still doesn’t move, meets Zoro’s gaze, his eyes intense with joy and power.

And this is usually where it ends.

 

* * *

 

Usually when this happens there's not enough time. Chopper will round on them, demanding to know the extent of any injuries. Nami will roll-call, to check no-one's missing. The fucking marines won't take their beating lying down, and insist on getting in the way. Always an interruption.

This time, it's just the two of them.

Zoro leans forward, even further into Luffy's space. He stops when their lips are a hair's breadth apart, and waits. Luffy breathes in the salt and iron scent that is Zoro after battle, and holds his first mate's dark eyes with his own.

Zoro is with Luffy one hundred percent, always is, but he won't start this. Luffy will, though, Luffy will start fights, and war, Luffy will start shit, and he'll _definitely_ start something with Zoro looking at him like _that_.

Luffy's tilts his head slightly, closes the molecule of distance between them, and kisses Zoro.

And that’s all that’s needed. Luffy feels Zoro’s body language change, soften, from indecision to _anything at all, Captain_. And fucked if Luffy knows what to do with that sort of acceptance, utter devotion, nothing to do except take take take.

Good things should be enjoyed; Luffy’s always been kind of selfish like that. He kisses Zoro harder, and someone, maybe both of them, makes a noise of desire. Luffy slides his right hand down to grip Zoro’s wrist, and he can feel the muscles underneath his fingers tense as Zoro forms and releases a half-fist over and over again.

His left hand Luffy slides under Zoro's t-shirt, and there discovers a small wound. Nothing too serious – maybe needing only two or three stitches. Zoro’s other hand comes up to grip Luffy’s forearm as the Captain runs his hand across gash, fingers becoming slick with blood. Needing to breathe, they break apart their kiss, but not too far apart. Every time Luffy exhales, Zoro breathes him in. Luffy presses down on the wound, just a little, and watches as Zoro hisses slightly in pain, pupils blown wide. The flame of anticipation in Luffy's lower gut flares, spreads heat across his body, pooling in his groin, warming his legs and arms and face.

Like Zoro always knows what Luffy means, like Zoro fights how Luffy fights, like Zoro’s wish is Luffy’s command-

Like that, Zoro pushes a little closer, and Luffy feels warm blood pulse out under his fingers.

 _Fuck_.

Luffy decides abruptly that they _need_ to be flat on the ground, more importantly, Zoro _needs_ to be laid out beneath him. The captain jerks them both around and tries to nudge Zoro to the grassy deck, but because Luffy refuses to let go of Zoro's wrist they stumble, and kind of trip over themselves, and then end up in a heap on the floor, Luffy sprawled on top of Zoro.

Joy bubbles up through Luffy, and he laughs softly, delightedly, into Zoro's neck, huffs of breath against the man's tan skin. He loves this, loves that he has at his fingertips this strong being who will fight for him, _with_ him, put up with so much of his shit.

Zoro tries and fails to look annoyed, and Luffy can feel rumbling chuckles echoing in Zoro's chest. He looks up. Zoro's smiling at him, soft and fond.

Luffy gathers his limbs together and sits on his haunches – well, on Zoro's hips – to take in the sight before him. Zoro is battle-rumpled and fucking gorgeous, waiting patiently for Luffy to take _whatever_ he wants. There is a small dark spreading stain on Zoro's white shirt, lower left, and suddenly impatient Luffy tugs at the shirt, pulling it up over Zoro's head and the arms that his first mate obediently lifts for him.

Shirt successfully discarded, Luffy slides his hands up Zoro’s firm stomach and chest, smearing blood as he pushes upwards, kissing Zoro with fierceness and intensity. They pull apart again, and Luffy lies on Zoro, their legs interlocked. Luffy rubs bloody circles into his first mate’s jawbone, a little obsessed with how it makes Zoro’s gaze go all dark and heady.

The line of Luffy's erection is pushing into Zoro's hip, and Luffy feels a corresponding hardness against his own leg. He shifts a little, lines them up, and presses down. Zoro's whole body tenses, his grip on Luffy's arm increases to bruising intensity, and Luffy can't believe he's _only just_ discovering this. The tension has been building for months – honestly, the completely inappropriate flash of heat Luffy had felt when Zoro had first called him _Captain_ really should have told him what was up – but Luffy had been content to let it simmer and grow. The anticipation was fun, and there was always something bigger going on – saving princesses, various wars, defeating nemeses, that sort of thing.

 _Stupid_ , Luffy thinks. _Could have been doing this all the time_. Zoro shifts, brushes his lips against Luffy's, and Luffy catches an echoing thought from him, _Life's too short_.

Luffy agrees wholeheartedly, claiming Zoro’s mouth again, this time with a little more teeth. Distracted, but with growing desperation, Luffy reaches one hand down between them in an attempt to remove the annoying barrier of trousers and shorts,  fumbling-

-sometimes there will be moments where Luffy is riding too high after battle, and nothing is _enough_ , and he’ll back Zoro into a corner or a small room and simply _take_ everything his first mate is willing to give him. No foreplay. A serious of biting kisses, or actual biting, and Luffy will divest them both of their pants in record time, and Zoro's equal desperation will fuel his own burning need. He will come, shuddering, between Zoro's strong thighs, and that may be all the time they have for themselves for the next two weeks.

And sometimes nothing will be happening. So Luffy will tug Zoro away from his boring napping, or his boring training, and lay the man out flat before him, and systematically explore his body. It's _fun_ , they'll try new things, laugh together when it doesn't work, or Luffy will watch Zoro's breath catch and get stuck in his lungs when it does. Luffy will take all afternoon, and pull everything he wants out of Zoro, make the man gasp and moan and plead, shudder beneath him, make him fall apart with Luffy buried deep inside of him-

Luffy finally manages, with Zoro helping, to sort things out. Luffy’s shorts are halfway down his thighs, Zoro’s pants have been yanked open, and both their erect cocks are exposed. The cool ocean breeze provides temporary relief for the heated skin.

Luffy notices, with fascination, that Zoro’s thighs are trembling slightly, with arousal or anticipation, or the self-control of holding himself back. Maybe all three.

Zoro must get impatient with Luffy’s staring, because he lifts his hips up, brushing Luffy’s cock with his own. The angle is a little awkward, but it still sends like eighty static shocks through Luffy’s hips and spine and stomach.

Immediately Luffy reaches down and clasps their cocks together with one hand, the other hand supporting himself as he leans over Zoro.

Zoro’s breath stutters.

There’s enough moisture between them to make this work, but it’s a little bit rough. It’s fitting, though, the surrounding ocean clogged with the debris of their recent battle, the smell of sweat and blood in the air, and Zoro beneath him, face all intense, hands tearing at the grass of the deck, yeah, it’s fitting.

_Isn’t it, Zoro?_

Zoro’s only response is a deep moan, as Luffy arches up once, and then down again. And _fuck, that feels good_ , shuddering, Luffy has to take a second for his vision to clear.

When it comes back, Zoro’s propped himself up on one elbow, and has reached down to help Luffy, his hand joining Luffy’s in encircling them together. The sensation of Zoro’s calloused hand on Luffy’s cock immediately rockets to number one of Luffy’s top five best things ever-

(later, many more things involving Zoro and Luffy’s cock will be added to that list, and it’s a good thing Luffy’s never really cared about numbers because there are _way_ more than five)

-from there on, it doesn’t take long. They move together, and it’s been building so long, that even the _idea_ of this would work on Luffy, but he doesn’t want to give in. Wants to _see it_ , first.

So he lowers his voice an octave and says, with meaning, “ _Zoro_ ,” and Zoro opens his eyes and meets Luffy’s gaze and that’s it.

Orders received, Zoro’s elbow gives out beneath him and his back hits the deck, hips canting up, pressing into Luffy, into their entwined hands, sliding against Luffy’s own hardness. Luffy watches Zoro greedily as the swordsman releases, and it’s _almost_ as good as watching Zoro fight. Luffy moves once, maybe twice more before he follows Zoro over the edge. The orgasm floods up his spine, spreading to very edges of his body, liquid _life_.

 

* * *

 

Luffy’s catching his breath, lying mostly on top of Zoro. Zoro’s hands are resting lightly on Luffy’s hips. Zoro’s focus shifts from one thing to another, first the itchiness of Luffy’s hair across his shoulder, then the muscle-mass weight of Luffy along the line of his body, then the slick and sticky mess between their bare thighs, Zoro’s open pants. The grass, under his back, the distant call of gulls, the gentle creak and rock of Sunny.

Luffy shifts, Zoro’s heartrate picks up. With the movement, blood pulses out from the wound in his side; he feels it run, warm and wet, down his skin.

Luffy leans back, sits up. _Radiant_ , Zoro thinks. Maybe because Luffy’s smiling at him.

They still have a few hours before everyone gets back. Luffy wriggles out of his shorts, gets to his feet, pulling Zoro with him.

Zoro follows, as natural as the sun.

**Author's Note:**

> i was going to write something else with plot and significantly more redeeming qualities, but no


End file.
